Basically in a nutshell I'm beginning to do some research for what I'm thinking is going to be my next novel once I finish the rider's first story. I started working on a couple period pieces set during the 20s and 30s in the vein of pulp and hardboiled, and they were unrelated and I got to thinking that maybe I should cut them together. And in my journal it's grown to a cast of like a dozen characters all representing diferent archetypes of those genres. It draws from the storytelling structure of Stephen King's "The Stand" with each chapter taking a different character as its centerpiece and following as they slowly roll together.

I'm thinking of titling the story "7 Days In Paradise." I'm having my friend, Anna, who is a visual arts major and was playing with map design early this semester (or was it last fall? I can't remember) and I'm thinking of wooing her to design for me the city of Paradise, giving me a large playground to play in.

I'm also starting to do some reading on the subject to create a wide basis on the topic. I'm starting with Raymond Chandler's "The Long Goodbye"

I didn't get to do any writing on the rider last night. Instead I made a beasty fried rice with what few ingredients were laying around the house and I pretended to do homework.